Splash!
After leaving the bath, Wuye gently dried Kaguya with a towel, then dressed her in the snow-white kimono she often wore.
He did not put on his Hokage robes again, instead changing into a men's kimono similar to hers.
Then he carried her in his arms and left the bathroom.
The two passed through the corridor and under the gazes of the attendants before arriving in the rear courtyard.
It was cherry blossom season, and pale pink petals danced in the breeze, with one or two occasionally drifting down onto them.
Wuye raised his head.
Light streamed through the gaps in the trees, scattering mottled patterns across the ground.
Specks of dust floated gently within the beams.
Holding Kaguya, he found a spot beneath a cherry tree and sat down against it.
He leaned his exhausted body against the trunk.
He held Kaguya's soft body tightly in his arms.
Wuye closed his eyes.
His mind was a complete mess right now, like a tangled ball of thread that was difficult to sort out.
Perhaps the second ring had appeared too early while two tomoe were still missing, causing an imbalance in his ocular power.
Not only that, his mental energy was running rampant, while a sense of rejection surged up from within his body.
His natural body and these eyes were resisting each other.
Wuye had a feeling...
Whether it was the natural body he had suddenly gained that year because of the Third Kazekage, or the golden ring that had abruptly appeared in his eyes now, both had come too early, leaving them unable to slowly merge in sync.
Now, the two were resisting and eroding each other. He needed time to gradually reconcile them.
If he succeeded, his strength would rise greatly. The ocular power governed by